Texas Tech Today

Officials Place Final Steel Beam on Experimental Sciences Building II

The 117,800-square-foot facility will greatly expand the university’s research potential.

Administrators from Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University System were on hand today (May 16) as the final steel beam for Experimental Sciences Building
II (ESB II) was lifted into place during a Topping Out Ceremony.

ESB II will significantly expand the university's research capabilities. The 117,800-square-foot
building will include an animal vivarium, four general wet labs, three instrumentation
labs and two synthetic labs, in addition to offices, collaborative spaces and three
conference rooms. Its construction was funded by $70 million from the Texas Legislature's
authorization of a tuition revenue bond and $7 million in revenue finance system funds
to be repaid by Higher Education Assistance Funds.

“This project will continue to foster Texas Tech's growing research enterprise and
spur innovation that changes the world,” said Texas Tech University System Chancellor
Robert Duncan. “We are fortunate to have legislators who recognize the importance of higher education
and invest in our campuses through tuition revenue bonds.”

The goal of ESB II is to increase Texas Tech's research capacity by:

Developing and expanding research areas that align with the university's existing
strengths and address areas of national importance;

Increasing the number of faculty with common interests within each research area who
can collaborate on large-scale projects; and

Expanding research infrastructure to support thematic research areas.

“The progress in this coming century is going to require that researchers and scholars,
as well as the educational experiences we offer our students, think outside of isolated
facts,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. “They have to view knowledge in a more coherent, integrated fashion. They have to
recognize the great progress that's made at the boundaries of disciplines. This building
was explicitly designed to provide for a juxtaposition of researchers and students
to work together to those ends. It very much is a central part of Texas Tech's research
enterprise, where we are now and where we intend to be in the future.”

“This beautiful campus is a legacy of the vision of generations of students, faculty
and academic and governmental leadership to build a top-tier public research university
in Lubbock to serve the people of West Texas and the state,” said Joseph Heppert, vice president for research. “This building will add to that legacy. Texas Tech
is already a top-tier Carnegie Research University, but we will strive to grow the
research enterprise in order to take our place among the top 50 public research universities.”

In keeping with Texas Tech's focus on sustainability, the facility is being constructed according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) standards. LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction
and operation of high-performance green buildings.

“We are here to celebrate two things,” said Billy Breedlove, interim vice chancellor
for Facilities Planning & Construction. “One is to celebrate a major milestone of reaching the top of our building. Second,
it is also a time to celebrate the achievements of our construction teams and personnel
who have performed the actual work.

“There are approximately 160 workers a day performing the hard work that you see.
They are here working in the cold and heat. They are the ones who have placed almost
8,000 cubic yards of concrete, usually starting at 2 a.m. in all kinds of weather
conditions. They are the ones who have worked 569 days without an accident. That in
itself is a great achievement worth celebrating.”

As part of the Texas Tech University System's Public Art Program, 1 percent of the total construction cost of each new building on campus goes toward
the commission of a public artwork for that building. Emily Wilkinson, public art
manager, said a Seattle-based group called Lead Pencil Studio has been selected to
create the artwork that will appear outside ESB II. It will be installed next summer
upon the building's completion.

Officials from Texas Tech and the Texas Tech University System broke ground on ESB
II on Feb. 22, 2017. Anticipated completion for the project is June 2019.

A new era of excellence is dawning as Texas Tech University achieves the Tier One designation. As of 2016, Texas Tech is listed among the nation's top doctoral universities in the Carnegie Classification
of Institutions of Higher Education. Of the 115 universities listed in the Highest Research Activity category, Texas Tech
is one of 81 public institutions in the top tier.

Research and enrollment numbers are at record levels, which cement Texas Tech's commitment
to attracting and retaining quality students. The university strives to foster an
environment that celebrates student accomplishment above all else. Texas Tech is large
enough to provide the best in facilities and academics, but small enough to focus
on each student individually.

Quality students need a top-notch faculty. Texas Tech is home to a diverse, highly
revered pool of educators who excel in teaching, research and service.

The Office of Research and Innovation is tasked with facilitating excellence in research, scholarship and creative activity
for Texas Tech students, faculty and staff. The office promotes an academic environment
embracing creativity, curiosity, innovation, diversity, ethics and integrity.

Among other programs, the OR&I supports responsible and safe conduct of research,
faculty development and recognition, interdisciplinary collaborations, externally
sponsored research, partnerships with industry and community stakeholders, international
research collaboration and the application of research for the benefit of society.
The OR&I promotes a culture of creative expression, discovery, innovation and collaboration
with the goal of advancing Texas Tech's status as an elite national research university.